Red Corner - DVDfever.co.uk

Red Cornerstars Richard Gere as a satellite TV executive on the verge of closing thebiggest deal of his career in Beijing so the Chinese can sample the delights ofAmerican TV. To celebrate, he goes out on the town with his Chinese contemporary,Lin Dan (Byron Mann) and takes a young girl, Hong Ling, back to hisroom for an after-show party of their own. Early next morning, he is rudely awokenby a guard tapping on his shoulder. As he comes to, he realises his shirt iscovered in blood, the girl is lying dead on the floor with stab wounds in her neckand the room is full of guards waiting to take him in.

As far as he’s concerned he’s been set up but he’s finding it hard to rememberwhat happened the night before as he has a severe hangover. What does becomeinstantly clear is that he’s in a land where you are presumed guilty and have toprove your innocence. This isn’t so easy when the murdered girl is the daughter ofa top-flight government official and no lawyers want to take on the case for fearof humiliation when they, inevitably, lose.

Someone does take it on though, in the form of Shen Yuelin (Bai Ling). Atfirst she toes the party line – as it were – and also assumes his guilt, but as thecase unfolds, she investigates it more deeply and begins to challenge the court andher country’s procedures as she comes round to Moore’s way of thinking, even if itcould put her own life in danger.

The picture quality is excellent, bar a few minor artifacts which won’t benoticeable from the usual viewing distance. I would say that the clarity ofthe image brings out the detailed locations in China, but are they reallyChina? Read on for more details on this. The average bitrate is a good5.61Mb/s, regularly peaking over 6Mb/s and the disc is 16:9-enhanced forwidescreen televisions allowing 33% extra resolution. The film is presentedin its original widescreen ratio of 1.85:1.

The sound quality is very good, the score used well to set tension when requiredbut apart from a few occasions during the film, the neighbours aren’t going to bebanging on your walls for the two hours that it runs. The sound is in DolbyDigital 5.1, which downmixes to Dolby ProLogic if you do not have the requisiteDD5.1 equipment.

Extras : Chapters :There are 32 chapters covering the 122 minutes of the film which cover each ofthe major scenes in the film. A theatrical trailer is also included inanamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen. Languages & Subtitles :

The language and subtitles are in English only, the former coming in Dolby Digital5.1 which downmixes to Dolby Surround for those without the requisite DD5.1 setup.Subtitles are also available in a “hard of hearing” option, which gives infoabout sound effects that are happening.

Other extras :

Director’s commentary: This is a feature-length stereo commentary bydirector Jon Avnet giving his insights on the making of the film, including thenews that this film, although set in China, was not filmed in the city andthat Digital Domain had their work cut out by creating enough CGI shots to maketheir location look the part by manipulating a very tiny amount of filmedfootage, plus a number of still 35mm snapshots that Avnet had taken.

Booklet: An 8-page booklet containing exclusive behind-the-scenesinformation. It also gives an interesting mention to why widescreen is much betterthan a standard pan-and-scan version, depending on the way a film is shot. Menu :

The menu is static and silent but works well and is easy to navigate. Oninserting the disc, you see the classic MGM “lion” logo before the menu appears.Clicking on “Play Movie” brings up the lion back again before the film starts.For some reason though, when you start the film, the default sound settingis the mono commentary track and not the film’s DD5.1 soundtrack.

This is a competent courtroom thriller with Gere very convincing as the man whomay or may not be framed. Add to this a few elements which initially seem to signala cliche but turn out not to be such as Shen Yuelin literally laying her life onthe line for Moore’s freedom and you have a film that’s worthy of your attentionin the main.

If this film has its downfalls, it’s that it does tend to tail off a little towardsthe end and it’s a rare film that has such a definitive finale, yet can stillcommand repeat viewings. Alas, I doubt this will be the case here so, if you can,it may be best to rent this film before buying. If you do choose to buy, you purchaseit safe in the knowledge that you’re not missing out on any extras in comparisonwith the Region 1 DVD.FILM : ****PICTURE QUALITY : ****½SOUND QUALITY: *****EXTRAS: **——————————-OVERALL: ****

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Dom Robinson

Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.

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